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Labour says if you earn £70,000 you are rich – try buying a home in H&F on that salary

The Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell proposes to clobber the “rich” with higher taxes. He said he meant those on”roughly” £70,000 a year.

It’s true that £70,000 is well above the national average. But when housing costs are taken into account would someone in Hammersmith and Fulham earning that amount regard themselves as rich?

According to Zoopla the cheapest property in W12 on sale at the moment is a studio flat in St Stephen’s Avenue at £270,000. Good luck getting a mortgage to pay for that if you are on £70,000 a year.

What about renting? A two bedroom flat on the Peabody Estate in Fulham Palace Road costs £410 a week. That is £21,320 a year. If you are on £70,000 a year your take home salary is £48,067.20. Would those on that salary paying that level of rent and that level of tax consider themselves as rich?

What does the Shadow Housing Minister (and Labour MP for Hammersmith Andrew Slaughter) make of the Shadow Chancellor’s claims?